ISML 2025 Charter

The Annual Charter defines the values and limitations of and establishes a schedule for ISML. The Charter proposes to be the flexible aspect of ISML that complements the static Constitution. It aims to provide ISML with the ability to make the innovations necessary to remain entertaining each year.

  1. General Rules and Outline
    1. ISML 2025 will consist of: Main Tournament (Section IV) and Exhibition Matches (Section XIII).
    2. ISML 2025 will be held across a total of Forty-Six (46) match days (excluding Nomination Phase). The number of match days each phase of the tournament will take will be specified on Section XIV.
    3. The Main Tournament and Exhibition Matches may be scheduled concurrently on the same match day.
    4. A match day will consist of a voting phase and result announcement.
      1. Voting phase will be held as scheduled (see Section XIV) and will run for Twenty-Four (24) hours.
      2. The Staff is authorized to delay the start of the voting phase or suspend and restart the voting phase should any problems arise due to technical issues or other areas of concern. In such cases, the Staff are allowed to delay the end of the voting phase and the release of official results. All extensions will be reported on the Website.
      3. Voting will be held on: https://internationalsaimoe.moe​/vote/voting
      4. Detailed Policies and Procedures of voting phase are explained in Section II.
      5. Official results for each match day will be announced approximately Twenty-Four (24) hours after the end of each voting phase, unless decided otherwise.
      6. Other statistics may be posted and kept for study and analysis.
    5. As constituted by Article V of the ISML Constitution, ISML Commissioner and delegated Staff will preside over ISML 2025 during the course of its duration, with authorities and duties as described in the ISML Constitution. These two parties will be referred to as "ISML Staff" in this charter.
  2. Voting Policies and Procedures
    1. Information such as the IP addresses of voters will be logged in order to verify ballot authenticity and voter uniqueness.
    2. Voters are obliged to obey the Policies stated in Article IV of the ISML Constitution.
    3. ISML Staff reserve the right to decide whether a violation of the procedures has or has not happened.
    4. ISML Staff reserve the right to exercise punishments to Parties that are deemed to have violated procedures as constituted on Article IV of the ISML Constitution.
    5. If a voter mistakenly casts a vote, they may contact staff by emailing internationalsaimoe@gmail.com to request a correction. Vote change requests must include the IP address from which the vote was cast and/or the vote id given at the confirmation page when a ballot has been submitted, the original incorrect ballot, and the requested new ballot.
    6. Voters may abstain from any match in a given round, but a ballot must have a minimum number of votes to be considered valid. This value differs depending on the round and will be specified on each voting ballot.
  3. General Rules of Eligibility and Qualification
    1. Character eligibility will be checked according to Article III of the ISML Constitution. Full-length animations referred to in Article III Section 4 of the ISML Constitution are animated series airing no fewer than Six (6) episodes with at least Forty (40) accumulative minutes, or at least Sixty (60) accumulative minutes of screen time.
    2. Consideration of female gender (for entry into Female Division or any other Female-based tournaments) includes: the character is female, possesses a female form (in which case only the instances when the character is female shall be considered), or must regularly exhibit feminine qualities when the character's gender is unknown or cannot be determined.
    3. Consideration of male gender uses the same qualification as Section III.B, except with regards to male and masculine characters.
    4. A character who qualifies as both male and female may enter one division only. The staff will consider the following points in their decision:
      1. The amount of screen time the character gets as each gender.
      2. The character's personal identity.
    5. In case a character’s gender is hard to determine, the default choice of gender will be female.
    6. ISML Staff reserve the right to deem any avatar-type character ineligible for the Main Tournament.
      1. We define "avatar" as any entity, virtual or otherwise, that is controlled by a distant conscience.
      2. An avatar may be eligible in the following cases:
        1. His/her status as an avatar has not been revealed in the anime adaptation.
        2. The character only appears as an avatar; i.e., the controlling conscience is never revealed or does not have a corporeal form.
        3. The avatar gains, or regains, his/her own individual conscience.
    7. Qualification for the Main Tournament will take precedence over all other tournaments.
  4. Main Tournament
    1. The Main Tournament will consist of Preliminary Period (Section IX), a series of Group Stages (Section X), and postseason Elimination Stage (Section XII).
    2. The Main Tournament will follow the schedule as explained on this Website unless decided otherwise (see Section XIV).
    3. Each match in the Main Tournament will be held on a single, specific match day. Technical rules of each match day follow Section I.
    4. The Main Tournament will be divided into Two (2) Leagues: the Nova League and the Stella League.
      1. Each League will be e divided into Two (2) Divisions: the Female Division and the Male Division.
      2. The format and schedule of a same League are identical for both Female Division and Male Division.
  5. Nova League: General Rules
    1. The Group Stage of Nova League will consist of Four (4) Splits: the Winter Split, the Spring Split, the Summer Split, and the Autumn Split.
    2. Characters must appear in a Full-length animation (Section III.A) during the following duration to be eligible for the corresponding Split.
      1. The Winter Split: from 1 January 2025 to 31 March 2025.
      2. The Spring Split: from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2025.
      3. The Summer Split: from 1 July 2025 to 30 September 2025.
      4. The Autumn Split: from 1 October 2025 to 31 December 2025.
    3. Characters satisfy any of the following conditions are not eligible for the Nova League:
      1. Characters who have won any Heavenly Tiara or Lapis Scepter.
      2. Characters who have won any Divine Circlet or Divine Crown since ISML 2021.
      3. Characters participated in any of the postseason Elimination Stage matches since ISML 2022.
      4. Characters who have won any Necklace or Pendant since ISML 2022.
      5. Characters participated in any of the Nova Division/Nova League Group Stage matches in the recent Three (3) Splits.
    4. At the end of the Nova League, the winner of the Female Division will be awarded the Divine Circlet and the winner of the Male Division will be awarded the Divine Crown, and both will be declared as Champions of Nova League for ISML 2025.
  6. Stella League: General Rules
    1. To be eligible for the Stella League, a character must have first appeared before 01 January 2025. Any character data that occurred after said date are not eligible for the Stella League.
    2. Across the duration of the Stella League, Seven (7) gem Necklace/Pendant will be distributed to the Contestant who was deemed to have performed the best on each phase of the Group Stages.
      1. The potential names of the gems are: Aquamarine, Topaz, Amethyst, Sapphire, Emerald, Ruby, and Diamond.
      2. The mechanism that will be used to distribute the Gem Necklace/Pendant will be ruled on Section XI.
    3. At the end of the Stella League, the winner of the Female Division will be awarded the Heavenly Tiara and the winner of the Male Division will be awarded the Lapis Scepter, and both will be declared as Champions of Stella League for ISML 2025.
    4. The most recent Eight (8) Tiara winners and most recent Eight (8) Scepter winners of ISML are ineligible for the Stella League.
  7. Stella League: Automatic Qualification
    1. A total of Sixteen (16) characters will automatically advance to the Group Stages. The following characters who meet the eligibility criteria in the order shown shall be awarded automatic qualification until the allotted slots are filled:
      1. The top Two (2) characters from r/anime's Best Girl 11.
      2. The winner from AnimeClick Best Waifu & Husbando 2024.
      3. The winner from Aniplus Character Tournament 2024.
      4. The winner from r/anime's Best Girl of 2023.
      5. The winner from the 9th Tianshidongman Moe Tournament.
      6. The winner from the 3rd Tianshidongman Male Tournament.
      7. Characters participated in any of the postseason Elimination Stage matches in ISML 2024 with the higher final rank. Priority is given to Characters from the Stella Division if a tie exists.
    2. Characters who meet the eligibility criteria and satisfy any of the following conditions are permitted automatic entry into the Preliminary Period, excluding the Contestants who have automatically advance to the Group Stages:
      1. The top Sixteen (16) characters from r/anime's Best Girl 11.
      2. The top Four (4) characters from each Division of AnimeClick Best Waifu & Husbando 2024.
      3. The top Four (4) characters from Aniplus Character Tournament 2024.
      4. The top Four (4) characters and seasonal winners from r/anime's Best Girl of 2023.
      5. The top Four (4) characters and seasonal winners from the 9th Tianshidongman Moe Tournament.
      6. The top Four (4) characters from the 3rd Tianshidongman Male Tournament.
      7. Characters participated in any of the postseason Elimination Stage matches in ISML 2024.
      8. Characters won any Necklace or Pendant in ISML 2024.
  8. Nomination Phase
    1. The Nomination Phase lasts Seven (7) days (see Section XIV).
    2. Each Split of the Nova League has a separate, identically formatted character nomination form.
      1. Voters may nominate up to Sixteen (16) characters each.
      2. At least Four (4) eligible anime franchises must be represented on the ballot.
      3. At least Two (2) female and Two (2) male characters must be included on the ballot.
      4. At most Three (3) characters from any given series or franchise may be nominated on the ballot.
    3. The Stella League uses a separate character nomination form.
      1. Voters may nominate up to Thirty-Two (32) characters each.
      2. At least Eight (8) eligible anime franchises must be represented on the ballot.
      3. At least Four (4) female and Four (4) male characters must be included on the ballot.
      4. At most Four (4) characters from any given series or franchise may be nominated on the ballot.
    4. No character may be nominated more than once on the ballot.
    5. All nominations have equal weight. There is no ranking of nominations in each ballot.
    6. Invalid nominations on a ballot will be discarded individually and will not void the ballot unless any discard results in that ballot being in violation of Section VIII.B or Section VIII.C, in which case that ballot will be voided.
    7. At the end of the Nomination Period, the characters with the most nominations for each Division will advance into the Main Tournament until the allotted slots are filled.
      1. Characters will first be considered for the Stella League. Only if they fail to advance to the Stella League will they be considered for the Nova League.
      2. For the Nova League, characters who are eligible for the Winter Split will first be considered for the Winter Split. Only if they fail to advance to the Winter Split will they be considered for the Spring, Summer or Autumn Split. Likewise, Spring Split will be considered before Summer Split, then Autumn Split.
    8. The number of allotted slots for each Split of each Division in the Nova League is determined according to the following conditions. Once advanced characters satisfy all of the following conditions, the allotted slots are considered filled. However, if two or more characters have the same number of nominations, the number of allotted slots for each division may not subject to the limit.
      1. Characters must be from at least Fifteen (15) different series.
      2. At least Twenty-Four (24) characters must be making their debut appearance in ISML Main tournament.
    9. The number of allotted slots for each Division of the Stella League is One Hundred and Twenty-Eight (128) minus the number of automatic entries permitted in Section VII.B. If, however, two or more characters have the same number of nominations, the number of allotted slots for each division may not subject to the limit.
  9. Preliminary Period
    1. Contestants are tentatively seeded based on the results from the Nomination Phase. The following sequence of tiebreakers will be used to break ties in favor of the character(s) who fits the stated description, applying each subsequent condition only among tied Contestants:
      1. Automatically qualified characters (Section VII.B).
      2. Greater number of nominations.
      3. Characters participated in any of the Stella Division Group Stage matches in ISML 2024 with the higher final rank.
      4. Characters participated in any of the Nova Division Group Stage matches in ISML 2024 with the higher final rank.
      5. Selection by Staff.
    2. Nova League
      1. Contestants of each Split will collectively be subjected to an Approval Voting match.
      2. The following iterative process will be used to determine the rankings. The top Sixteen (16) Contestants will advance to the Group Stage, while the rest will be eliminated.
        1. Greater number of votes.
        2. Greater nomination rank (Section IX.A).
        3. The top Three (3) Contestants from any series.
    3. Stella League
      1. The following iterative process will be used to update the rankings: the highest available rank is given to the Contestant who satisfies the following conditions, applying each subsequent condition only among tied Contestants.
        1. Less Average Rank Points (ARP) of the Preliminary Period. ARP = (Average Deserved Rank of Round 1) + 4 * (Average Deserved Rank of Round 2).
        2. Greater Cumulative Vote Points (CVP) value.
        3. Greater nomination rank (Section IX.A).
      2. The Preliminary Period consists of Three (3) rounds, defined below. Each round will be split into Two (2) match days.
        1. As to Round 1, the Contestants will be split into Two (2) balanced groups based on the nomination rank. The Contestants will collectively be subjected to an Approval Voting match.
        2. As to Round 2, the Contestants will be split into Eight (8) re-balanced groups based on the Round 1 result. The nomination rank will be used to break the tie. The Contestants will collectively be subjected to a Limited Voting match. Voters may select up to Five (5) Contestants per group. At the end of Round 2, after all tiebreakers have been applied, the top Forty-Eight (48) Contestants overall will advance to the Group Stages. The Contestants ranked 49th through 96th overall will advance to Round 3. The rest will be eliminated.
        3. As to Round 3, the Contestants will be split into Two (2) re-balanced groups based on the overall rank after Round 2. The Contestants will collectively be subjected to an Approval Voting match. The top Sixteen (16) Contestants will advance to the Group Stage, while the rest will be eliminated.
    4. At the end of Preliminary Period, all advanced Contestants will be re-seeded according to their results before being allocated to their respective groups of the next Stage.
  10. Group Stage
    1. General Rules
      1. Each Contestant will have exactly One (1) opponent per match, excluding Necklace and Pendant Showdown (Section XI) and Wild Card Matches (Section X.C.2) of the Stella League.
      2. At the end of each match, the Contestant who received the greater number of valid votes in his/her match will be declared the winner of that match; the opposing Contestant will be declared the loser. If opposing Contestants have an equal number of valid votes, their match will be declared a draw except for Knockout Stage of the Nova League (Section X.B.3); both Contestants will record a tie in their statistics, and no overtime match will occur.
      3. A ranking system for each group will be utilized to record the Contestants' results. The following iterative process will be used to update the rankings within a group: the highest available rank is given to the Contestant who satisfies the following conditions, applying each subsequent condition only among tied Contestants.
        1. Greater number of cumulative wins and draws, in which a draw will be counted as half (1/2) the value of a win.
        2. Greater Cumulative Vote Point Difference (CVPD) value.
        3. Greater Cumulative Vote Point (CVP) value.
        4. Selected by Staff.
      4. After each Stage, all advanced Contestants will be re-seeded according to their results in prior Stages before being allocated to their respective groups.
      5. Eliminated Contestants may be seeded into the Consolation Brackets that will determine the final rankings from 17th place to last place. These matches will take place during the Main Tournament at the earliest possible opportunity.
    2. Nova League
      1. The Group Stage of each Split will consist of Opening Stage and Breakout Stage.
      2. Opening Stage
        1. Contestants will be split into Two (2) groups of Eight (8). Contestants in the same group will compete in a round-robin format.
        2. At the end of each Split, after all tiebreakers have been applied, the top Four (4) Contestants in each group will advance to the Breakout Stage.
      3. Breakout Stage
        1. Contestants will be split into Two (2) groups of Four (4). Contestants in the same group will compete with Stepladder rule. In Stepladder rule, Contestants with lowest seed will compete first. Only the winner of that match will compete against Contestants with higher seed.
        2. The 1st and 3rd ranked Contestants from the same group of Opening Stage and the 2nd and 4th ranked Contestants from the other group of Opening Stage will be split into a same group. The rest will be split into the other group. Contestants are seeded according to their performances in the Opening Stage.
        3. The winner of each group will advance to the Seasonal Final. The winning Contestants of the Seasonal Final are awarded the corresponding Seasonal Diadem.
        4. If opposing Contestants have the same number of votes at the end of a Breakout Stage match, the Contestant who had won their previous head-to-head match during the Opening Stage will be declared the winner. If that match was also a draw, or did not occur, the same procedure as the one used in the Opening Stage will be used to break it (see Section X.A.3).
        5. The top Four (4) Contestants in the Breakout Stage will advance to the postseason Elimination Stage.
    3. Stella League
      1. The Group Stages will consist of Five (5) Stages. On each Stage, Contestants will be split into groups of Six (6) Contestants. Contestants in the same group will compete in a round-robin format.
        1. The First Group Stage will consist of Ninety-Six (96) Contestants, including Sixteen (16) groups.
        2. The Second Group Stage will consist of Seventy-Two (72) Contestants, including Twelve (12) groups.
        3. The Third Group Stage will consist of Fifty-Four (54) Contestants, including Nine (9) groups.
        4. The Forth Group Stage will consist of Thirty-Six (36) Contestants, including Six (6) groups.
        5. The Fifth Group Stage will consist of Twenty-Four (24) Contestants, including Four (4) groups.
      2. At the end of each Group Stage, after all tiebreakers have been applied, Contestants who have performed well will advance to the next stage.
        1. After the First Group Stage, the top Four (4) Contestants in each group will advance. The 5th ranked Contestants will collectively be subjected to a Limited Voting match. In this match, voters may select up to Eight (8) Contestants, and the top Eight (8) Contestants will advance. The rest will be eliminated. This additional match is known as a Wild Card Match and will occur alongside the Necklace and Pendant Showdown (see Section XI).
        2. After the Second Group Stage, the top Four (4) Contestants in each group will advance. The 5th ranked Contestants will collectively be subjected to a Limited Voting match. In this Wild Card Match, voters may select up to Six (6) Contestants, and the top Six (6) Contestants will advance. The rest will be eliminated.
        3. After the Third Group Stage, the top Three (3) Contestants in each group will advance. The 4th and 5th ranked Contestants will collectively be subjected to a Limited Voting match. In this Wild Card Match, voters may select up to Nine (9) Contestants, and the top Nine (9) Contestants will advance. The rest will be eliminated.
        4. After the Forth Group Stage, the top Three (3) Contestants in each group will advance. The 4th and 5th ranked Contestants will collectively be subjected to a Limited Voting match. In this Wild Card Match, voters may select up to Six (6) Contestants, and the top Six (6) Contestants will advance. The rest will be eliminated.
        5. After the Fifth Group Stage, the top Three (3) Contestants in each group will advance to the Elimination Stage. The 4th and 5th ranked Contestants will collectively be subjected to a Wild Card Round. Contestants will be split into Four (4) Range Voting matches by their performance in the Fifth Group Stage. The Contestant with the best record who has not yet been scheduled will compete against the Contestant with the worst record who has not yet been scheduled. The winner of each match will advance. The rest will be eliminated.
  11. Stella League: Necklace and Pendant Showdown
    1. At the end of each Group Stage, there will be a Necklace Showdown for the Female Division to determine the winner of the Necklace for that Stage. The Male Division will have a Pendant Showdown with the same rules.
    2. Only one Necklace and one Pendant will be awarded per Necklace/Pendant match. Each match will consist of Eight (8) Contestants.
      1. Two (2) Necklace/Pendant Showdowns will take place in the First Group Stage: Aquamarine and Sapphire.
      2. Two (2) Necklace/Pendant Showdowns will take place in the Second Group Stage: Amethyst and Diamond.
      3. Ruby Necklace/Pendant Showdown will take place in the Third Group Stage.
      4. Emerald Necklace/Pendant Showdown will take place in the Forth Group Stage.
      5. Topaz Necklace/Pendant Showdown will take place in the Fifth Group Stage.
    3. Best performed Contestants from each Division will participate in a Necklace/Pendant Showdown based on their performance during the relevant Stage.
      1. After the First Group Stage and the Second Group Stage, a total of Sixteen (16) Contestants will advance.
      2. After the Third Group Stage, the Forth Group Stage and the Fifth Group Stage, a total of Eight (8) Contestants will advance.
    4. For each slot, the slot will be filled by the eligible Contestant who satisfies the following conditions, applying each subsequent condition only among tied Contestants. The seeding of Necklace/Pendant matches will also be decided according to the same procedure.
      1. Highest ranking (Section X.A.3).
      2. Greater number of period cumulative wins and draws, in which a draw will be counted as Half (1/2) the value of a win.
      3. Greater Period's Cumulative Vote Point Difference (PCVPD) value.
      4. Greater Period's Cumulative Vote Points (PCVP) value.
      5. Selected by Staff.
    5. Voters will rank the Contestants in each of the Showdown matches. At the end of the Showdowns, the winning Contestants, as decided by an Instant-Runoff Voting system, are awarded the Necklaces and Pendants.
      1. Ties are resolved in favor of the Contestant who was ranked highest on the most ballots. A continued tie will be broken using the number of second-highest ranks, and so on.
      2. If the tie persists after that, the same procedure as Section XI.D will be used to break it.
    6. Contestants who win a Necklace or Pendant are ineligible for later Showdowns for the remainder of the year.
  12. Elimination Stage
    1. General Rules
      1. Sixteen (16) Contestants from each Division are seeded according to their performances in Group Stage.
      2. Each Contestant will have exactly One (1) opponent per match.
      3. At the end of each match, the Contestant who received the greater number of valid votes in his/her match will be declared the winner of that match; the opposing Contestant will be declared the loser. If opposing Contestants have an equal number of valid votes, the Contestant who had won their previous head-to-head match during the Group Stages will be declared the winner. If that match was also a draw, or did not occur, the higher-seeded Contestant according to the initial Elimination Stage seeding will be declared the winner.
      4. Eliminated Contestants may be seeded into the Consolation Brackets that will determine the final rankings from third place to last place. These matches will take place during the Elimination Stage at the earliest possible opportunity.
    2. Nova League
      1. The Elimination Stage will consist of Swiss Stage and Playoff Stage.
      2. Swiss Stage
        1. Contestants advance through the bracket according to a variation of Swiss System. For every round, each Contestant will compete with a Contestant with the same number of wins.
        2. The 1st Round will feature the following matches based on seed: 1st vs 16th, 2nd vs 15th, 3rd vs 14th, 4th vs 13th, 5th vs 10th, 6th vs 11th, 7th vs 12th, 8th vs 9th.
        3. The 2nd to 5th Rounds will feature the matches based on seed. The Contestant with the highest seed who has not yet been scheduled will compete against the Contestant with the lowest seed who has not yet been scheduled, unless they previously had a head-to-head match in this stage.
        4. The top Eight (8) Contestants who receive Three (3) wins will immediately advance to the Playoff Stage. Contestants who receive Three (3) loses will immediately be eliminated.
      3. Playoff Stage
        1. Eight (8) Contestants from each Division are re-seeded according to their win-loss record in Swiss Stage. For Contestants with the same record, performance of Group Stage will be considered.
        2. Contestants advance through the bracket according to Double-Elimination rules without Preliminary Round. In Double-Elimination system, the losers in the Winners' Bracket matches will be placed in the Losers' Bracket, and the losers in the Losers' Bracket matches will be eliminated. The Contestants without any loses in the Swiss Stage will be initially placed in the Winners' Bracket, while the rest will be initially placed in the Losers' Bracket.
        3. Playoff Stage will feature the matches based on seed. The Contestant with the highest seed who has not yet been scheduled will compete against the Contestant with the lowest seed who has not yet been scheduled.
        4. The winner of each Bracket will advance to Final. If the winner of this match is from the Winners' Bracket, she/he will be declared as the Champion. Or, a rematch is required. The winner of the rematch will be declared as the Champion.
    3. Stella League
      1. Contestants advance through the bracket according to Double-Elimination rules with Preliminary Round. The winners of Preliminary Round will be placed into the Winners' Bracket. The losers of the Preliminary Round will be placed into Losers' Bracket.
      2. The Preliminary Round and each Round of Winners' Bracket will feature matches based on draw.
        1. The remaining Contestants will be balanced split into seeded Contestants and unseeded Contestants before each round.
        2. Each seeded Contestant will compete with an unseeded Contestant in every match.
      3. Each Round of Losers' Bracket will feature matches based on their seed. The Contestant with the highest seed who has not yet been scheduled will compete against the Contestant with the lowest seed who has not yet been scheduled.
      4. The winner of each Bracket will advance to Final. If the winner of this match is from the Winners' Bracket, she/he will be declared as the Champion. Or, a rematch is required. The winner of the rematch will be declared as the Champion.
  13. Exhibition Matches
    1. Exhibition Matches are designed to raise awareness of anime series that are not represented and Japanese media characters who are not participating in the Main Tournament. The matches may focus on anime series airing after the Nomination Phase had begun or on other outlets possibly previously unknown to members of the Community.
    2. Exhibition Matches have no effect on the Main Tournament, unless an exception for a specific match is announced at least one week before the start.
    3. Detailed rules for an exhibition tournament will be announced at least one week before its Nomination Phase or the first match. ISML 2025 will consist of the following exhibition tournaments: All-Star Tournament, Couples Exhibition Tournament, and Visual Novel Exhibition Tournament.
    4. Each Exhibition Match will be held on a single, specific match day. Technical rules of each match day follow Section I.
  14. Schedule
    1. All dates in this Section will be published on the Website for easy access by the Community.
    2. All dates are subject to change. ISML may change the schedule without updating this section of the document; however, any and all changes must be published on the Website as early as possible.
    3. Nomination Phase
      1. The Nomination Phase of the Stella League is scheduled from 31 August 2025 to 7 September 2025.
      2. The Nomination Phase of the Nova League Winter Split is scheduled from 14 September 2025 to 21 September 2025.
      3. The Nomination Phase of the Nova League Spring Split is scheduled from 28 September 2025 to 4 October 2025.
      4. The Nomination Phase of the Nova League Summer Split is scheduled from 26 October 2025 to 2 November 2025.
      5. The Nomination Phase of the Nova League Autumn Split is scheduled from 1 January 2026 to 8 January 2026.
      6. Nomination Phase will be extended if system errors prevent nomination submissions for more than Twenty-Four (24) cumulative hours.
      7. Result of Nomination Phase will be announced approximately in Seven (7) days after the end of the Phase.
    4. The Main Tournament is scheduled from 6 October 2025 to 1 May 2026.
      1. All matches in this period are scheduled to start at 1200 GMT on the dates reported on the ISML Calendar.
      2. Nova League
        1. The Winter Split will take place from 20 October 2025 to 23 January 2026.
        2. The Spring Split will take place from 24 October 2025 to 20 February 2026.
        3. The Summer Split will take place from 26 December 2025 to 20 March 2026.
        4. The Autumn Split will take place from 23 January 2026 to 20 March 2026.
        5. The Elimination Stage will take place from 26 March 2026 to 1 May 2026.
      3. Stella League
        1. The Preliminary Period will take place from 6 October 2025 to 24 October 2025.
        2. The First Group Stage will take place from 10 November 2025 to 28 November 2025.
        3. The Second Group Stage will take place from 8 December 2025 to 26 December 2025.
        4. The Third Group Stage will take place from 5 January 2026 to 23 January 2026.
        5. The Forth Group Stage will take place from 2 February 2026 to 20 February 2026.
        6. The Fifth Group Stage will take place from 2 March 2026 to 20 March 2026.
        7. Elimination Stage will take place from 26 March 2026 to 27 April 2026.
  15. Statement
    1. During vote-checking, Staff shall not show any favoritism to any Contestant during the validation process. While the Staff will attempt to enforce the Voter Policies as strictly as possible, situations may occur where not all votes in violation of the Policies will be detected or where voters banned for Policy violations discover alternate methods to submit votes. The Staff will work to the best of their ability to minimize the occurrence of these situations.
    2. Once the voting phase of a match day has ended, a member of the Community may raise an objection within Twenty-Four (24) hours to bring into attention any potential errors. Once an objection is accepted by the ISML Commissioner, the Staff will conduct an investigation and may implement any appropriate adjustments. Twenty-four (24) hours after the official release of the results, the result shall be deemed final and cannot be changed unless otherwise notified.
      1. Objections submitted to establish a ballot’s validity shall be treated as appeals. A voter may only appeal the validity of the ballot that they personally submitted. To appeal on behalf of another voter, an agent must provide written authorization from each represented voter.
      2. Objections submitted to contest a ballot’s validity shall be treated as reports. All reports must be accompanied by evidence identifying the specific ballot(s) in question.
      3. The Staff reserves the right to summarily reject any objection that does not meet the above requirements or that lacks sufficient supporting evidence.
      4. The Staff may not provide unnecessary information in response to objections, and will only inform the filer whether their objection has been accepted.
    3. Each year, ISML and the Staff attempt to present a fair system of matches. The Staff will ensure their best, honest, and virtuous effort to arrange a respectively even schedule for all Contestants without bias or favoritism or discrimination.
    4. In the event of any discrepancy between the English version and the translated version, the English version hereof shall prevail.
  16. Amendments
    1. Once approved and published, the contents of this document shall not be altered. It may only be amended, in which amendments may update or supersede the statements in this document.
    2. Amendments may be suggested by any member of the community and are subject to approval by the Staff and Commissioner at any time during the course of the tournament.
    3. Approved Amendments must be reported on the Website.
    4. On 29 August 2025, Section VII.A.7 were revised to eliminate ambiguity.